Food Safety at Christmas By Dr. Deryck D. Pattron, Ph.D. FDI, Ministry of Health, Trinidad, West Indies

Why Should Extra Care Be Taken To Keep Food Safe At Christmas? Consumers tend to buy large quantities of food in advance of the holidays Consumers and the general public tend to cook larger quantities of food over the Christmas period and this period is a danger time for food poisoning Storing food before, during and after Christmas lends itself to increase in bacteria that cause foodborne illness because the fridge is overloaded, the weather is hot and more food is prepared than usual

Cleaning Washcloths For Christmas Keeping your kitchen clean is essential to keeping food safe Wash kitchen cloths and sponges regularly and leave them to dry before using them again Use different cloths for different jobs Disposable kitchen towel is the preferred choice, because it can be thrown away and reduces the risk of cross-contamination, that is, the transfer of pathogens from one surface to another

Cleaning Worktops For Christmas Always wash and sanitise worktops before you start preparing food Wipe up any spilt food immediately Always wash worktops thoroughly after they have been touched by raw meat, poultry, or raw eggs Never put ready-to-eat food on worktops that has been touched by raw meat, unless you have washed it thoroughly first

How Often Do You Need To Wash Your Hands When Preparing The Christmas Dinner? Before, during and after preparing food After touching raw meat After going to the toilet After touching the bin After touching pets After coughing or sneezing As necessary to maintain safe hygienic conditions

How To Wash Hands When Preparing The Christmas Dinner? Wash hands and forearm with soap and warm water for at least 20 sec Rinse thoroughly and dry with disposable single-use paper towel

Use Of Gloves To Prevent Cross-Contamination Hands should be washed before gloves are put on and after they are taken off Gloves protect against cross-contamination Plastic single use gloves are used for one task only such as working with raw meat or poultry Discard gloves when soiled or damaged Change gloves when interruptions occur during food preparation

Buying Food For Christmas If you are buying fresh meat or poultry e.g. a fresh turkey, buy it as close to Christmas as possible and store in your fridge straight away If you are buying frozen meat, put it in the freezer without delay to ensure it stays frozen Avoid keeping food in temperature danger zone between 5 ºC and 60 ºC

Storing Food For Christmas Fridges should be set between 1-5ºC A fridge thermometer should be used to check that your fridge temperature is at the right temperature Keep cold foods below 5 ºC and hot foods over 60 ºC Avoid overloading your fridge since this prevents cold air from circulating properly and can stop it from working properly. Use first-in-first-out rotation

Defrosting Food For The Christmas Dinner All meat and meat products should be defrosted thoroughly in the fridge, allowing 24 h for every 4-5 lbs of weight Meat and meat products when fully defrosted should be stored in the fridge if not used immediately

Precautions Taken When Gutting Fresh Poultry Handle and remove the internal organs well away from other foods to avoid contamination Use disposable cloths, paper towels and disposable gloves whenever possible The guts should be removed carefully from the rear of the bird and heart from the neck

Precautions Taken When Gutting Fresh Poultry (Cont’d) Avoid rupturing the intestines and spilling the contents of the gut Keep work surfaces and equipment clean and dry during use

Precautions Taken After Gutting Fresh Poultry Wash poultry carefully as to avoid splashing that may cause bacteria to spread around the kitchen Dispose internal organs and any other inedible material carefully in a waste bin Wash utensils and work surfaces thoroughly in warm soapy water after use, if possible, disinfect them

Internal Cooked Temperature Guide For Poultry Ground chicken, turkey 74 ºC Whole chicken,turkey Medium, unstuffed 77 ºC Well done 82 ºC With stuffing 82 ºC Poultry breasts, roasts 82 ºC Thighs, wings cook until juices run clear

Internal Cooked Temperature Guide For Fresh Pork & Ham Medium done fresh pork 71 ºC Well done pork 77 ºC Ham 71 ºC Fresh, raw (leg) 71 ºC Fully cooked, to reheat 60 ºC

Internal Cooked Temperature Guide For Fresh Beef, Veal & Lamb Ground meat e.g. hamburger 71 ºC Roasts and steaks Medium rare 63 ºC Medium 71 ºC Well done 77 ºC

Preparing The Christmas Dinner Cooking Foods should be prepared close as possible to eating time Meat should be cooked thoroughly and should have an internal temperature of 75 ºC Ensure there is no pink meat and that the juices run clear, not pink Cook stuffing preferable outside the meat/bird because stuffing slows down cooking and cooling

Preparing The Christmas Dinner (Cont’d) Cooking If stuffing is cooked inside the bird, stuff just the neck region and not the entire bird Allow extra time for cooking taking into consideration the extra weight of the stuffing

Dealing With Leftovers After The Christmas Dinner Leftover meat should be taken off the bone, cut into small pieces and stored in a shallow container and refrigerate within two hours of serving Once refrigerated leftover meat should be eaten within three days All re-heated foods should be steaming hot all the way through at least 75 ºC

Transporting Food Safely Hot food should be wrapped in foil and heavy towels or carried or in insulated containers with hot packs Cold foods should be transported in a cooler with ice or freezer pack so that the food remains at 5 ºC or lower

Common Foodborne Bacteria Associated With Improperly Prepared Christmas Food Salmonella Staphyloccus aureus Listeria monocytogenes

Common Foodborne Bacteria Associated With Improperly Prepared Christmas Food (Cont’d) Campylobacter jejuni Clostridium botulinum Shigella Echerichia coli 0157:H7

Keeping The 4 C’s For Christmas Cook meat and meat products steaming hot until juices run clear Clean hands before handling food. Clean utensils and scrub chopping boards between preparing raw and cooked food Cover and separate raw food from cooked or processed food Chill food to prevent or reduce spoilage and deterioration

Conclusion Food poisoning could dampen the Christmas spirit and cause immense human suffering, it is therefore prudent for all those who are involved in food preparation from “farm to fork” to be aware and practice good hygiene, good sanitation, good temperature-time relationships when cooking and cooling and good temperature controlled storage when preparing food for Christmas

Thank You! Dr. Deryck D. Pattron FDI, Ministry of Health Trinidad, West Indies Email: ddpattron@tstt.net.tt